


The Art of Love

by blakefancier



Series: Young Lovers [42]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Sexual Assault, Victim Blaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-10
Updated: 2013-12-10
Packaged: 2018-01-04 06:00:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1077410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blakefancier/pseuds/blakefancier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Howard goes to Tokyo, Steve has fun with his friends, and they both miss each other terribly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Howard's POV

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry. I'm so very, very sorry. I'm sorry.
> 
> Also, the previous story "There'll Be Days Like This" happens in the middle-end of Steve's part.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Howard in Tokyo

Howard hated the flight to Tokyo. It was thirteen fucking hours on the Stark Industries jet with only the flight attendant and Peggy to keep him company. So when they finally landed just outside Tokyo—at a private airstrip owned by the company, thank God—he was overjoyed. He practically bolted out of the plane so he could stretch his legs while the flight attendant and the driver SI Tokyo had sent transferred the luggage to the car. 

"So, where to first?" Peggy asked, sidling up to him as he stared up at the sky. 

"The hotel." He rubbed the back of his neck and groaned softly. 

"You're not going out?" Peggy frowned at him. 

"No." He sighed. "Truthfully, I'm exhausted. All I want to do is check in to our hotel, call Steve, and take a long hot shower before falling into bed." 

Peggy tilted her head. "Call Steve?"

"Yeah, you know, my boyfriend." Howard rolled his eyes. "He asked me to call him when I got settled into my hotel room." 

"Huh."

He knew that 'huh' and he didn't like it at all. "Huh, what?" 

"I spent all this time worrying that you were going to be a bad influence on Steve. I never considered the possibility that he might be good for you."

Howard felt his face grow warm and he shrugged. "It doesn’t take much to make him happy. Besides, we haven't had phone sex in awhile."

"You're disgusting," she said, shoving him. 

He stumbled away, laughing. "What? We haven't!"

"Get in the car, Stark, before I decide to leave you here." She sounded gruff, but there was a smile on her lips. 

***** 

The first thing Howard did, after tipping the bellboys who brought up their luggage and promising Peggy that he'd tell her if he changed his mind about the bar, was strip out of his suit and stretch out on the very nice bed, cellphone in hand. He dialed Steve's number, put the cell on speakerphone and laid it on the pillow. He closed his eyes, feeling more tired than he should.

"Howard?" Steve said, voice husky with sleep.

"Who else?" He turned on his side towards the phone. "Did I wake you?"

"I had to get up anyway." Howard could hear Steve yawn and give a little grunt. "How was your flight? Did you just get to the hotel?"

"The flight was fine and yes, I did."

"Good. I'm glad you got there safely." Steve was silent for a moment. "I miss you already."

Howard felt his chest tighten with emotion and he said, softly, "I miss you, too, babe. But it's only for a week. Besides, I'm sure Tony will keep you busy with the party he's throwing. When is that anyway?"

"Tony isn't—" Steve sighed. "Friday. It's on Friday. Tony figured since Bucky has to leave next Sunday and Rhodey the day after, it'd be a good time. Don't worry, though, me and Rhodey will make sure it's not too crazy." 

"I'll hold you to that," he said, stifling a yawn.

Steve hummed soft. "So what's your week look like?"

He knew that Steve had grilled Annie about his schedule, because she'd complained about it, but he indulged Steve anyway. "The next two days I'm inspecting a couple of SI factories, the it's two days in negotiations with the Tanaka Corporation, then a few more days at the Tokyo office." 

"Sounds exhausting." 

Howard ran his fingers through his hair. "Running a multi-billion dollar company isn't a cake walk." 

"I say we abandon it all and go live on a tropical island somewhere." Steve sounded amused. 

"Can I buy you a pair of Speedos?"

"Mm, yeah. It'll be the only thing I wear. When I wear anything." 

He chuckled. "God, I miss you. More than I thought I would. You know what? Screw federal abduction laws. Next time I have to go out of the country for a business trip, I'm taking you with me." 

"I'll visit you in prison every weekend." 

"Sounds like a plan." He stifled another yawn.

"Maybe I should let you go, babe. You sound like you need to sleep." 

"Yeah," he said, regretfully. "I'll call you in a couple of days." 

"I'll be waiting. I love you."

"Love you, too." Howard disconnected the call, then let out a heartfelt groan. He was so tired. 

***** 

Howard forgot how tedious factory inspections could be—it was mostly shaking hands, taking pictures, and pretending to be impressed that the factory was running the way it should be. But, as Obi and everyone else told him, it was good for morale.

After a very nice dinner and a few drinks, his driver dropped him and Peggy off at the hotel. 

"You look as tired as I feel," she said, scanning their surroundings as they made their way towards the elevators. 

"Too much smiling today."

Peggy snorted and ushered him into the elevator. "Only you would find smiling a chore."

He leaned back against the wall of the elevator and glared at her. "Too much fake smiling today. "

"Poor baby." She tousled his hair until he jerked away with a grunt. "So what's the plan for tonight?" 

"Hookers and blow." He laughed at the dirty look she gave him. "No plan. I think I'm just going to go to bed."

"It's nine o'clock! You really are getting old." The elevator doors opened; Peggy walked out first, then gestured for him to follow. 

"Happens to the best of us." He stretched and pulled his keycard from his breast pocket. "What are you going to do tonight?"

She gave him a crooked smile. "Have a bubble bath, watch a movie, then go to bed."

"Welcome to the geriatric wing," he said. 

Peggy rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek. "Knock on my door if you decide you want company. Yeah?"

"Yeah." He wished her goodnight and entered his hotel room, locking it, like Peggy lectured him to. He took a long, hot shower, then crawled into bed with his personal laptop. A movie sounded pretty good. He flipped through his files, hesitating when he came across the password-protected folder where he kept some of his porn. He worried at his lip—it wasn't very professional, but then again, he was off the clock. He double-clicked on the folder, typed in his password, and scrolled through the files. 

He considered looking at one of his favorites, but he kept looking at the subfolder of BDSM movies he'd downloaded before he took this trip. He'd promised Steve that he would do research and he was determined to keep it.

Howard picked a video at random and opened it. It wasn't so bad, at first: lots of leather, a little rougher than he was used to seeing, but not by much, even some spanking, which made him slightly uncomfortable. But then the dom cuffed the sub, to a cross-like piece of equipment and picked up a whip. He felt sick and shaky, but he forced himself to watch for a few minutes until the welts and blood and pained cries became too much. He paused the movie, clamped a hand over his mouth, and breathed in slowly, deeply. 

Howard reminded himself that it was a movie, it was fucking consensual, and that Steve would never make him do something he wasn't comfortable doing. He gave himself another minute, forwarded past the whipping scene, then pressed play.

He hit pause and closed his laptop. Needles. Jesus Christ, fucking *needles*.

He went to the bathroom, splashed water on his face, then knocked on the door separating his room from Peggy's. A moment later, she answered the door. 

"Are you all right? You look pale."

Howard smiled at her; he hoped it looked natural. "You mentioned something about a movie."

"I was just going to watch _Terminator_. You want to watch it with me?" she asked, already drawing him into the room.

"Yeah, that sounds wonderful."

"Are you sure you're okay?" She frowned at him and felt his forehead; he rolled his eyes.

"I’m sure. I just couldn't relax, that's all." He stretched out on the couch and she settled next to him.

"Well, if a movie about an alien assassin from a post-apocalyptic future doesn't help, I don't know what will." 

"A bottle of Jack Daniels?" he said.

"After the movie, sweetheart." She put an arm around his shoulders and grinned. "After the movie." 

***** 

The nightmares were not unexpected.

***** 

Howard was not nervous about negotiations with Tanaka. He was a great businessman, a genius at whatever he put his mind to, and he was wearing his Mickey Mouse boxers—every year for Father's day, Tony bought him a new pair, it was a thing. He was ready for this. Mostly. 

As he walked into the Tanaka Corp building, his cellphone buzzed. He checked it—it was Steve, who asked if he was in his meeting yet. He texted back that he still had ten minutes, which he figured was the end of that conversation. So he was surprised when Steve told him to find a bathroom. He frowned at that, but asked their corporate guide about the closest toilet. 

He'd just ducked into a stall when his phone rang.

"Are you alone?" Steve asked. 

"For now," Howard said softly. "What's going on?"

"I thought you might be stressing out right now. I thought I'd help you out. Why don't you undo your pants and take out your cock." Steve's voice went low and deep and sent a shock of lust through Howard."

"Steve," he whispered. "I'm in a public bathroom at Tanaka Corp."

"Yeah, and if I was there, I'd get down on my knees and suck you down. I'd let you fuck my throat." Steve let out a desperate moan that stiffened Howard's cock. "You got your cock out?"

"Jesus." He undid his trousers with one shaking hand and took out his cock. "It's out."

"Good, that's good." Steve breathed heavily into the phone. "First I'd lick it. Nice and slow, from the tip all the way down to your balls. I'd get it all wet and hard and, mmm, it tastes so good."

God, Steve's dialogue was horrible. He'd laugh, but he was too busy jacking off and trying to be quiet about it.

"You know what I love best about sucking you off? You're so big. You just stretch my mouth and gag me. I feel so full. All I can think about is how you're gonna pump me full of your come." Steve was moaning and making little sounds and Howard knew he was jerking off, too.

"Babe, fuck, I wish you were right here, I wish—" He bit his lip to stifle a moan. He rubbed the head of his cock, capturing the moisture there, and used it to ease his strokes. It felt so good, but it would be better with Steve's mouth actually on him. 

"Me, too," Steve moaned. "I wanna suck you, babe. I wanna taste you in my mouth and feel you and just have you here with me."

"Yeah, God, yeah." He jerked himself harder, faster, not caring if anyone heard him because Steve was whimpering in his ear and he was close. They were both so close. 

Then Steve let out a surprised gasp and Howard knew it was because he was coming. And it, goddamn, goddamn it. Howard cupped the head of his cock so he wouldn’t get any come on his clothes and grunted once, twice, as quietly as possible. 

"Howard? You still there?" Steve sounded cheerful, if a bit breathless; Howard hummed in response. "I know you'll do great in your meetings today."

"You're a little shit," he said.

"I love you, too. I'll call your tomorrow, okay. Um, my tomorrow, not yours."

"Yeah, love you, too." He disconnected the call, wiped his hand with toilet paper, then took a piss. When he walked out of the stall to wash his hands, there was a businessman at the sinks who smiled at him. 

He did not blush. Not at all. 

***** 

Howard knew he was going to hear about it as soon as he sneaked back to his hotel room, and he was right. Peggy was waiting for him, looking furious, as he walked in. 

"You left without me," she said, her voice low and cold.

"Yes, I did." He set down his packages on the desk and went to pour himself a drink. "Want a scotch?"

"No, I don't want a scotch!' She strode over to him and snatched the bottle from his hand. "What is wrong with you?"

"I was perfectly safe, Peggy." He held out his hand, glancing at the bottle.

"You don’t know that. You don’t know that you were perfectly safe." When he didn't reply, she made a disgusted sound and shoved the bottle at him. "You could have been kidnapped. You could have been hurt!"

"I wasn't." 

Peggy paced the room, shooting angry looks at him. "You promised me that you'd let me do my job, Howard. You promised!"

"I'm sorry," he said, and poured them each a drink. He handed her a glass, which she took grudgingly. 

"No you're not. You always do whatever you want, screw the consequences. Why do I even bother?" She took a drink and turned away. 

He gently touched her arm. "Because you care about me and I'm a jackass." 

"Damn straight you are." She finished her drink, then looked over her shoulder at him. "What was so important that you had to ditch?"

Howard flushed and cleared his throat. "I had to do some shopping." 

"You didn't think I'd want to go?"

"Not to a sex shop."

"A sex—" She held up her hand. "You know what, I don't want to know. Regardless, next time, you'll take me with you. Or I swear to God, Howard, I'll break both your legs."

"Understood."


	2. Steve's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve misses Howard. A lot.

It had been two days since Howard had left for Japan, two days of missing him desperately, when Bucky let out a sigh and threw a magazine at Steve. "Okay, that's it, I've had enough of your moping around."

"I'm not moping," he said, throwing the magazine back at Bucky.

"It's three in the afternoon and you're still in your pajamas." Bucky got to his feet. "Get dressed and pack an overnight bag. We're going upstate."

Steve got to his feet. "What's upstate?" 

"I don't know. Albany!"

"Why would we—"

"Go, Steve. Now!" Bucky pointed to the bedroom; Steve rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine!"

***** 

Bucky borrowed a car from a girl he used to date, then after a stop for burgers and a couple of bottles of whiskey, they headed out of town. Not that they went very far. By the time they stopped, Steve was completely confused.

"Why did you take me to a forest?" He looked around skeptically. 

"Because I like trees," Bucky said.

"No, you don't. You once said trees were stupid." Steve leaned up against the tree and crossed his arms over his chest. "What's the deal?"

"Maybe I wanted to see a couple of tress before they ship me back to the desert." 

"Oh." Steve felt his cheeks go hot. "Sorry."

Bucky rolled his eyes and smacked the back of Steve's head. "Grab your stuff, asshole. It's a bit of a hike to the lake. Marcia Winslow used to take me there all the time when we were dating. It's a nice place. C'mon."

He took his duffle bag out of the trunk and followed Bucky down a well-used trail. It was a nice hike: the weather was perfect and he saw a couple of weird birds. "Are you scared?" he asked, when they stopped for a bit to eat their burgers.

"What? To go back?" Bucky shrugged. "Naw, not really. Actually, I kinda miss it."

"Really?"

"I got a purpose in the military, Steve. I got a reason to get up." Bucky wiped his mouth with a napkin. "If it wasn't for the Army, I'd probably be in prison."

"That's not true." Steve reached out and touched Bucky's shoulder. "You're a good person."

"No, you're a good person. I'm a hoodlum." 

Steve rolled his eyes. "You're so full of bullshit, you know that? If you were half as bad as you say you are, we'd never be friends. You never would have protected me from all those bullies who tried to kick my ass. You never would have gotten me that Superman action figure for my tenth birthday."

"I stole it," Bucky said, like it mattered.

He grinned. "I know. Asshole." 

Bucky threw a fry at him. "You kiss your mama with that mouth?"

"No, but I suck my boyfriend's dick with it." 

"Ugh!" Bucky shoved Steve off the rock he was sitting on. "I don't want to hear about your sex life, Rogers!"

Steve laughed and blew a kiss at him. "Love you, too, Princess!"

**** 

Once they finally found the lake—after getting lost for a couple of hours, so much for military training, and thank God for the GPS on his Starkphone—they stripped down to their underwear and swam until Bucky was exhausted. Then they lay out on the grass to dry off. 

As soon as it started getting dark, Bucky took out the first bottle of whiskey, took a drink and passed it over. Steve took a healthy swig, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Do you have to go?"

"Yeah, Steve, I gotta go."

"I worry about you. A lot," he whispered. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too, punk." Bucky took the bottle from his hands. "But I'll be okay. You gonna be okay?"

"I guess. I don't really have anyone to talk to about stuff when you're not here." Steve laid back, hands tucked behind his head. "Relationships are harder than I thought they were. And I can't talk to Mom about Howard because she just thinks that means we don't belong together. I can't talk to Tony because he thinks it's creepy. And you're gone."

"I'm away, not gone. Geez, I'm gonna need more alcohol for this conversation." Bucky sighed. "You can still talk to me, Steve. Write, email, text me, I'll respond. You know I will." 

"It's not the same." Steve knew he was being selfish, putting all this stuff on Bucky, but he couldn't help it. 

"It's what we got. And it's not forever."

"I know." Steve wiped his eyes with the back of his arm. "Pass me the bottle."

Bucky took a few slugs of the whiskey before passing it over. 

***** 

Someone was giving head to the ice sculpture of Cupid. Steve watched with a group of other people as the girl really went at it. She was pretty vigorous about it until the little penis snapped off and she almost choked. Fortunately, some kid in a varsity jacket stepped up and gave her the Heimlich maneuver. 

Once he was sure the girl was okay, he poured himself some punch—really it was more alcohol than punch—and wandered towards the ballroom where everyone was dancing. On the way, Steve saw Bucky doing Jell-O shots with a group of giggling girls. Between shots, Bucky was telling them about all the action he saw in Afghanistan. One girl leaned over and whispered in Bucky's ear making him grin. Steve was pretty sure Bucky was gonna get some action tonight, too. 

By the time he made it to the ballroom, he'd finished his cup of punch, so he poured himself another one. The music was really booming, he could feel the bass in his bones and it hurt his ears a little. Still he watched the other kids dance and wished that Howard were home. God, he missed Howard so much. He guzzled his punch, then poured more into his red cup.

Ugh, he was feeling a little dizzy and a lot gross. A boy next to him bolted away to puke in the corner and Steve's own stomach roiled in sympathy. He took a deep breath, then another before deciding it was too hot in the ballroom and hurried out. 

He heard someone call his name, loud and slurred. He turned quickly and had to catch himself on the wall. Tony was coming towards him waving a bottle of vodka and smiling broadly. 

Tony practically threw himself at Steve, laughing wildly; Rhodey trailed him, looking tired and a bit drunk himself. "This is a great party. Isn't this a great party? You think this is a great party, don't you, Rhodey?"

"It's a great party, Tones." Rhodey rolled his eyes and grinned at Steve, who grinned back. "Me and Tony were gonna get something to eat. You want something?"

"I'm good." Steve drank a bit more of his punch, then watched as Tony topped it off with some vodka. "Thanks, Tony." 

"Sure!" Tony saluted him with the bottle. "Got it from Obi." 

"Obi? Mr. Stane's here?" Steve suddenly felt queasy again.

"Yeah, he said that Mr. Stark asked him to check up on us. C'mon, Tones. Food, then we'll look for those girls who promised us a dance." Rhodey put his arm around Tony's shoulders. "See you later, Steve."

"Yeah, later." Ugh, Stane was around. Steve thought that deserved a drink. A lot of drinks. 

**** 

After the lots of drinks, Steve was really tired and really, really sick. He made way upstairs—only tripping a few times—and slipped into the first bedroom he came across. It was decorated in rose pink, which was really ugly, but he still crawled into the bed and closed his eyes. 

***** 

Howard was rubbing Steve's cock through his jeans. It felt so good. Steve stretched and arched up against Howard's hand. "More," he moaned. "Please, more."

Howard obeyed. He undid Steve's jeans, slipped a hand in, and fondled Steve. "Like that, baby?" he whispered.

"Yeah." Steve licked his lips. "Kiss me."

"Sure."

Steve knew immediately from the kiss that it wasn't Howard. His eyes snapped open and shoved the strange man off of him, then he decked the guy. 

"Son of a bitch," the stranger—no, not the stranger, *Stane*—clapped his hands over his bleeding nose, and cursed. "You little whore! You almost broke my nose!"

"Good!" Steve scrambled to his feet, doing up his jeans. His stomach lurched and he felt sick. "You're lucky I didn't break your fucking neck!"

"Please, you were begging for it." Stane pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his nose. 

Steve clenched his hands into fists, trembling violently. He wanted to run, he wanted to take the hottest shower he could stand. He wanted—. "I thought you were Howard!"

"Howard's in Japan, or did you conveniently forget that?"

"I was drunk." He swallowed hard. "I am drunk." 

Obi scoffed, giving Steve a dismissive look. "Sure, kid, whatever you say."

"I'm gonna tell Howard. " Steve's voice shook; he couldn’t stop it from shaking." I'm gonna tell him and—"

"And what? You think he's gonna believe you? Especially after I, his oldest friend, tell him that you were so drunk that you came on to me?" Obi tilted his head, his mouth curving into a cruel smile. "I didn't want to say anything, Howard. I know how much you love this kid. And hey, he was drunk. We all do stupid things when we're drunk, but if he's accusing me of assault—"

"He'd believe me," Steve said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Are you sure?" Obi asked, gently. "Do you really want to take that chance?"

"Get out. I said, get out!" He grabbed a knick-knack from the nightstand and threw it at Obi—he missed. 

Obi laughed at him, stood up, and walked out.

Steve doubled over and was sick. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home right now.

He covered his face with his hands and sobbed.

***** 

Thank God for his mom. Thank God.  
***** 

Steve had been dithering about whether or not he wanted to tell Howard about Obi. The memory made him sick to his stomach, but he realized he was lucky. It could have been so much worse. 

Anyway, he still wasn't sure if he was going to say anything, until Howard walked into the house looking disheveled and tired. He knew he couldn’t say anything. He could—Howard had such screwed up views about consent, he couldn’t risk it. He didn’t want to risk it. 

When Howard saw Steve, he put down his luggage and opened his arms. "I don’t get a hug and a kiss?"

Steve smiled. "Of course you do!" He surged forward, pulling Howard into an all-encompassing hug, and kissed him hard. "I missed you so much. God, I missed you."

"I missed you, too." Howard laughed and held him tight. "I'm glad the house is still standing. I heard the party was a raging success."

"Yeah." Steve shuddered and pushed the memories aside. "I guess it was."

Howard stepped back. "Where's Tony?" 

"Out with Rhodey. I think they're painting the town red." Steve cleared his throat. "Want me to take your bags upstairs for you, old man?"

"Actually, yes. I have a couple of gifts for you."

Steve smiled in surprise and picked up Howard's luggage. "You bought me presents?"

"Of course I did! I think you'll like them." Howard rested his hand on the small of Steve's back and guided him towards the stairs. 

"I can't wait to unwrap them." He could feel the horrible knot in his stomach unravel a bit and it was such a relief. 

When they got to the bedroom Howard unpacked three brown paper bags, He gestured for Steve to sit next to him then offered him the first bag. "This one first."

Steve eagerly reached into the bag and pulled out a clear box with a… "Hello Kitty?" He looked over the box, trying to figure out why Howard would give him a Hello Kitty wand-thing. "You know I'm not a girl, right."

"Take it out and turn it on." Howard was practically trembling with glee.

Steve shook his head, opened the box, and turned on the wand-thing. It vibrated in his hand. Why would it vibrate? Then it hit him. "You bought me a Hello Kitty vibrator?"

"It's a personal massager," he said, suddenly looking anxious. "Do you like it?"

"You bought me a Hello Kitty personal massager." Steve turned it off and laughed. "I love it! And I definitely wasn't expecting that. Thank you."

Howard flushed and handed Steve a bigger bag; this one was heavy. "Be care with it. It's breakable."

Steve pulled out a white box and opened it. His eyes widened in shock. Nestled in the box was a pink glass tentacle. "You've been holding out on me, you perv!"

"It's an object d'art." 

"It's a dildo! I saw a picture of it online." He gently lifted it out of the box and stroked it. "We're definitely using this one."

"Now who's the perv?" Howard asked, but he seemed delighted by Steve's response.

He gave Howard a coy smile, and put the dildo back in its box. "Next one, please." The third bag was pretty damn big and he had to admit he was little afraid. He took out a long, colorful box. He opened it and took out a very long, very thick dildo; it was bumpy and green. 

"It's called the Godzilla." Howard bit his lip and flexed his hands.

"I can see why. It's really, really big. Kinda… scary." But exciting too.

"That's not why they call it the Godzilla." Howard gestured to it. "Press the button on the bottom."

Steve found the button and hit it. He let out a yelp of surprise and dropped it on thee bed when it let out a magnificent roar. He stared at Howard for a moment, then he flopped back on the bed and began to laugh so hard that his stomach hurt. "Oh my God, oh my God, Howard, that's the best thing ever!"

Howard laughed along with him, stretching out next to Steve. "So you like them?"

He nodded frantically. "They're the best presents ever." 

"Good, because that last one was a bitch to get through customs. FYI, there will probably be something in the tabloids tomorrow about me being a size queen." 

Steve wiped his eyes. "I think even the tabloids only report on new news, Howard."

"Ha ha, you're so funny." Howard gently reached over and stroked Steve's hair. "I did a lot research when I was in Tokyo, too. Read up on BDSM."

"Yeah?" He wiggled close to Howard. "And?"

"And I think we can make it work. I know we can." Howard took a deep breath. "I printed up some kink lists. We can check off which ones we're okay with and which ones we're not. There's even a kink I'm really interested in trying: Kinbaku. It's erotic rope bondage."

"Sound like fun." Steve leaned in and gave Howard a lingering kiss. "You're perfect."

"No, you're perfect. I'm lucky."

He felt his face heat with embarrassment. "I'm still a little hungover from the party. Can we just cuddle tonight?"

"That sounds perfect," Howard said, drawing Steve closer. "I'm a little tired myself tonight."

Steve sighed and pressed his face against Howard's neck. He was relieved to realize he still felt safe in Howard's arms. 

It still felt perfect.


End file.
